The Shadows
by Animalluver
Summary: There were twelve. Twelve trainers destined to save the world from the evil - The Shadows.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The Pokemon League. Hundreds of trainers everyday dream of fulfilling this mighty goal. Many, many, MANY want to defeat the Elite Four and the champion. But, there are twelve. Twelve trainers. Each and every one of them are young, but they are the strongest trainers in the lands. They have gone through hardships, and have even defeated the Elite Four. These trainers are beyond strong - they are impossible to beat. They are, shall we say, human legends. The Elite Four cringes at the sight of these trainers. The champions are no match.

But, like so many wonder, who ARE these so-called "impossible to beat trainers?"

Like said, these are children. Incredibly gifted, chosen trainers. They all played some part in saving the world from evil.

Kanto, the land of purity. There are two. Red, and Blue. Rivals, you may say, but they are also great friends.

Johto, the land of courage. There are three. Gold, Silver, and Crystal. Silver was indeed evil at a time. But he has overcome such pathetic missions and decided to take over a wonderful task as one of the "Twelve Great Masters," as such the group is named.

Hoenn, the land of spirit. There are also three. Brendan, May, and Wally. Wally is the smallest of the lot, not to mention sickly. But his spirit pulled him through so many great things, it is almost unimaginable!

Then there was Sinnoh, the land of peace. There are four. Dawn, Pearl, Lucas, and a newly discovered trainer - Platinum.

Now, every single one of you is probably mouthing questions. No need to worry, as quoted by Dawn, I will answer your questions.

The "Twelve Great Masters" naturally is made up of these twelve here. But these twelve met one day - the Grand Masters League held once every one-hundred years. It is an ancient tradition held for thousands of trainers to participate in for world-wide glory. It is rather obvious who the top twelve were. The final match consisted of Platinum and Red. Red, naturally, won the match.

Red won the title, and the twelve trainers met up after the match. Each talked like normal children, boasting about their hundreds of wins against the toughest trainers.

One day, they all decided to form a group, named the "Twelve Great Masters" group. This group is, even today, known as the most powerful group to ever exist.

Yes, this happened very long ago, my young children.

Now, there were also an incredibly evil power. Its name was The Shadows. The Shadows were not in the least human. They were, in fact, nothing but the world's evil made into a large force. The Aura Trainers (whom will be revealed later on), banished The Shadows for many years. Piece by piece, they have rebuilt, forming an even stronger evil since that time.

The Shadows take the form of Pokemon or humans. The stronger and purer a trainer you are, the more you notice the strange aura in a Shadow disguised as a Pokemon or a human. The aura is a dark purple or black. The evilest shadows are deep red.

Weak trainers look at the disguised Shadows as normal trainers, and that is when they pry into The Shadows' trap. They would steal the trainer's soul - a fate worse than death.

Slightly stronger but still moderately weak trainers may see a slight glow, but ignorance and inexperience makes them ignore it, putting it aside and falling for the trap.

More prominent trainers see a nice glow, many running off, escaping from the grasp of The Shadows' trap. But some still fell for it, however.

The "Twelve Great Masters" can see fully-through the disguise, and will instantly either battle it to destroy it for a while, or run away.

Now then, one of the "Twelve Great Masters" knew how to build many things. His name was Silver. He helped with many great buildings using his Pokemon after he became good.

Silver, with the others, created an underground hideout in an abandoned island next to Johto and Hoenn, There are also four others, one per region. Although they hardly ever use them.

The inside was supposed to be a high-tech place. Giant TV and computer, sofas, even three battle areas, Life seemed great in those times. Twelve children, friends, having a wonderful time, is it not?

My young children, this story shall tell you many secrets; dark secrets. This story will tell you about hardships, bonding, friendship, pain, and even…

Death itself.

**A/N: Prologue people! That is why it is so short.**


	2. Missing Leaf

**1**

"Hm…" said the Pokemon trainer, focusing on the black and white game by him.

The opponent's eyes narrowed, watching his hands move toward a pawn, then backed away, hand resting on his chin in thought.

"King me," he smiled. The opponent groaned, slumping against the chair.

"Brendan, you're too slow," he laughed, packing away the game.

"Chess isn't my thing…" Brendan mumbled, lowering his headband.

"Where's your sense of humor?" the opponent asked, kicking the box under the table. "You're usually extremely happy.

'Tis was true - Brendan was always happy-go-lucky. He was known for looking at the glass half-full. The white-haired boy shifted his green headband, sighed, and stared at his Pokeballs. "Man, Blue, I swear you cheat every time you play against me."

Blue flipped a coin in the air, snorting, putting his feet on the table. "C'mon now, just because you're not smart, doesn't mean you have to blame me on it!" Blue was an arrogant, cocky boy. He shuddered, at that moment remembering Red.

He flicked his light brown bangs out of his eyes, blinking for a second, shaking his head. "Hm…" he repeated again. Red, that dude was unbeatable!

Brendan slapped down a deck of cards. "Wise guy, I'll show you! Go Fish, right now!"

_Go fish? _Blue chuckled silently. _Oh, what a day…._

-

She pushed her silvery hair out of her face, eyes narrowed under the lamp intently, finger tracing the words carefully. She pursed her lips for a moment, sighed, then turned the page. Crystal, on top of a sleeping Feraligatr, watched her from a distance.

She rubbed her aching eyes, closed the book, and put her head on the desk in distress. Crystal took that opportunity to talk.

"So, Platinum, what were you reading?" she asked, blue eyes shining in curiosity.

Platinum turned around, eyes looking drowsy and foggy. "Leaf…" she yawned.

"Leaf?" Crystal laughed. "Leaf died like, a year ago. I was good friends with her."

Platinum's grey eyes opened, staring at her in amazement. "Leaf? You knew her Kris?" Everyone called Crystal "Kris" for short.

Crystal nodded, light blue spiky pigtails bouncing lightly. "Of course! Now, I heard she died from a misfortune from her Venusaur, but I don't believe that. Bunch of crud, if ya ask me."

"She was so innocent too," Kris continued, sighing. "Always the goody-goody. Shy as heck, her nose in books, she was smart, that one. Made her right by Red on the challenge level."

Platinum gaped. Right! Leaf was said to be right by Red on the toughness scale. One of the best in the world….

"Where _is _Red?" Platinum asked, looking around the room.

"Hm… dunno." Crystal shook her head. Her Feraligatr stirred slightly, then snored.

"I need to find out more info on Leaf!" Platinum cried, standing up, ignoring the book that fell off. She sped off, pushing Pearl out of the way. He spun, falling. "What the heck?" he exclaimed, a book falling on his head.

"She's on it again?" Pearl grunted, rubbing his blonde hair.

"Yeah." Kris sighed, crossing her arms and shook her head. "Once Platinum goes, she never stops."

"Like that one time," he said, laughing.

-

"Heh. Nice one Red." Gold smiled, returning Typhlosion. He raised an eyebrow, sighed, and put his Pokeball in his pack. "You've been too stressed lately, though. What's wrong?"

Red returned Charizard, turning. "Something's stirring, I swear on whatever legend that controls everything."

Gold took off his yellow hat and waved it in front of his face, shaking his head. "Red, you need to relax. You're constantly interviewed, challenged, and talked about. You're stressed out, and maybe a little paranoid."

"I swear I'm not paranoid!" Red yelled, stomping his foot slightly. "There is something out there, stirring, and I wanna find it. I swear on my red hat!"

Gold rubbed his forehead and put on his hat. Anytime Red swears on his hat, he had his mind set on it. "Okay Red, whatever. Just don't kill yourself, alright?"

But Red already stormed off, and Gold could spot his shadow heading towards the library. He frowned.

"Well, I wonder if Red's right."

**A/N: Short, short, short, short, short. I know, but it could be worse, right?**


	3. Red's Discoveries

**2**

"N-now, Red, are you sure you aren't upset over Leaf?" Gold asked, following behind the angry Red. Red swiftly flew around, almost making his hat fall off. He had a hint of a snarl in his voice.

"Do. Not. Say. Her. Name!" he growled, knocking off books in the library in a wild frenzy.

"Why? She was-" Gold clamped his mouth shut as soon as he saw Red glare. "I… I know you two were close. I'm sorry."

Red sighed, leaning against the wall, frowning deeper. Red was never too cheerful, anyway. He mostly had a scowl printed on his face, making him look angry rather often. Gold was his best friend, but, secretly, was sort of scared of Red. Red was just… incredibly strong.

Gold's parents, grand parents, so forth, were superstitious. They believed if one was too powerful, it could collapse and make it uncontrollable. To Gold, Red was on the edge. And believe me, that's incredibly strong already.

Red slammed down an old book on the table, reading it furiously. "… That has to be it…" he murmured.

"What?" Gold exclaimed, as he read the page. His face paled. "N-N-No… Red… please, please, don't let it be true…"

"Gold, have you ever thought of the fact that maybe we all have a purpose in this world?"

He looked around. "Uh… yeah… I think."

Pointing to the black ink, with a picture of two people, Red nodded. "You and I are destined, then."

-

Dawn snuggled against the chair by the fireplace in a heavy blanket, shivering. Lucas and May sat there.

"Now, that's what you get for not wearing a decently-lengthened skirt, Dawn." Lucas sighed.

May shivered slightly, moving closer to the fire. Blaziken was nestled by May, but that still wasn't warm enough. Lucas huffed, throwing a stick into the fire.

"C'mon! You two are part of the Twelve Great Masters, huh? Geez…"

"S-shut up… " Dawn snapped. "Just because the heater is broken, doesn't mean you have to pick on us! You're the one wearing the long pants, anyway."

He looked at his leg and shrugged, laid back, and put his hat over his face.

"W-Well, I never!" May grunted. "Come on Dawn, let's go see Wally. He has _some _amount of respect for us!"

-

"Silver!" exclaimed Platinum, running over. "Where's Wally?"

Silver looked up, eyes darkened in annoyance. He closed his book and sighed. "I never read that book."

Platinum closed her fists, ready to punch his smart-mouth, but thought the better of it. "Not the book, idiot! Besides, it was called 'Where's Waldo' in America. Anyway, you know who I'm talking about."

He picked up his book again and turned the page, facing away from her. "Nope, no idea where the hell he is," said Silver.

"Besides, why do you ask?"

She paced the room, sighing. "May and Dawn told me that they couldn't find him _anywhere! _I don't get it; where could Wally be?"

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe he didn't want to come today? Maybe he's training his Gardevoir?"

Platinum sat down on the edge of Silver's desk, thinking like "The Thinker" statue. Silver, to his annoyance, didn't want to be staring at her butt.

"I know!" she exclaimed, standing up. "Silver, have you seen Red?"

"No…" he replied. "Who am I now, Mesprit?"

"That's Uxie!" she snapped. "Get your Sinnoh facts straight!"

Silver waved his hand, as if dismissing her. He pushed back his red hair, folded his hands, and rested his head on them. He looked like a boss, really.

Silver… well, let's describe him a little more. He has a mysterious nature. Before, he would steal Pokemon and neglect them. It is, and many would agree, very bad. Of course, though Gold doesn't like that, Silver was accepted as a member after he changed. Though Silver still has his horrid attitude.

"Now, if you may shoo." Platinum was starting to boil in anger.

Silver liked to push everyone over the edge. He's not… shall we say… a people-person.

Platinum breathed slowly. _I'll see if he likes no response. She grinned. "Sure Silver, I'll go. See ya later!" Then, she left, leaving Silver bamboozled. _

_-_

Wally blinked for a moment, looking at the figure above him. He screamed - and fell to the ground in a heap. The figure smiled, and disappeared into the shadows.

The Great Wally was dead.


	4. The Book

**3**

The entire room stopped. Time seemed to stop as well. No one breathed. Red turned as white as a ghost. May burst out crying, and Brendan knelt down, trying to soothe her sobs. Platinum gripped the table, her eyes widened, face pale, body trembling. No one said anything, for the air just seemed to turn cold.

The T.V. reporter explained that the funeral would take place next week in Petalburg City. She also explained that almost everyone in Hoenn was going to attend. Lucas flipped off the T.V.

Everyone looked at each other in a stunned silence, but Red and Gold looked like they were about to die. How in the world could they have not found out earlier? Why couldn't they keep Wally from going?

"Reporters also said that they don't know what killed him," Pearl explained in a hoarse voice. Blue bit his fingernails nervously - a habit he almost broke of until today.

Brendan pounded the chair in frustration. "HOW COULD THEY NOT KNOW?!" he screamed, eyes watering. "I'LL KILL THE PERSON OR POKEMON WHO KILLED WALLY!"

"Calm down!" exclaimed Platinum. "Brendan, it could have been from natural occurrence. You _know _Wally was… well… the weakest link."

Red pursed his lips, nodding. "I agr-"

"You agree?" May shouted, standing up in a rage. Her eyes were red and bloodshot. "Wally had just as much of a chance than any one of you! You people stereotype poor Wally just because he is small and sickly! He is incredibly powerful, and you guys know that!"

"Hey, hey!" Gold said. "We're just placing facts here. We can't conclude if Wally was murdered, of died because of maybe a boulder smashing against him, or if he was poisoned, maybe even shot-"

"Would you shut up?" Silver interrupted. "You're not helping. May's starting to have another round of tears. Now, let's just-"

"Would everyone quit fighting?!" Red finally stated. Everyone faced him. "Look, I have a good clue on what happened to Wally. But this requires absolutely no panic." They all waited.

"The Shadows," he finished.

"The Shadows?" Kris repeated. "That's just a myth!"

Red pulled out the book he held, and shook his head. The book was old, with yellow pages that looked like they were going to tear off any moment. Some words on the cover were faded, while the leather covering was peeling off. He opened the same page as before, pointing to the picture.

"You guys see this? THIS is The Shadows. Read it."

No one dared to move forward. With a exasperated sigh, Red read the passage himself.

"_Thousands of years ago," _he began, _"the world was just beginning to use Pokemon as partners. But, there were thirteen trainers that were extremely powerful. Their names were Rouge, Cyan, Fern, Pyrite, Crystalina, Silveran, Brandon, Spring, Willy, Dusk, __Lucania, RoPearto, and Platina."_

"_Each of them were called the Aura Trainers, with the ability to see through a disguise not man-made. One day, the evil beings, called The Shadows, purged the world with a strong might."_

"_All thirteen went to war. The Shadows have the ability to shift into a human, or a Pokemon. This made them invincible against the normal human. Not even the legendaries knew of this war. In fact, it was almost oblivious."_

"_A.D. 200, the worst day Earth has ever seen. The war went on for a year or so. Eleven of the thirteen remained alive."_

"_The Shadows would suck the soul of their victim, and the victim would never find the path to Giratina… ever. In fact, the soul would not even exist. No one knows what would happen to the soul that was 'eaten.' Some say they were reincarnated, others claim nothing would happen. But, they all know this, they couldn't become a ghost."_

"_On that day, the Earth was said to have stopped spinning. The sky went black; almost everything died in the wrath of The Shadows. The two Aura Trainers that remained - Rouge and Pyrite, fought to the death. They banished The Shadows into the pits of the Earth, never to return. They were all shattered in their own ways."_

"_It was said that years later, they would all return. Prophesy states that the two kin would return and destroy them once again. But, eleven will die."_

"_Now, they banished them by-" _Red stopped. "The rest is worn out."

"Aww…" Kris whined. "Man, that's good reading! But… who's the two that will survive?"

Red shrugged. "There's pictures of Rouge and Pyrite." Gold leaned over, and paled slightly.

"H-hey… Red… they look like us. A lot."

They all leaned over, gasping. "Oh my gosh!" Platinum exclaimed, "they do! Could they be your great-great-great--"

"It's possible!" Blue laughed. "Turn the page. Maybe there's more!"

Red turned the page, revealing all thirteen trainers. _Leaf would of gotten a kick outta this… _Red thought miserably.

"There's Platina!" Platinum cried. "She looks like me in really old clothes!"

"And there are some Pokemon that we don't even know. Look, Crystallina's holding some small thing that looks cute, but strange," Pearl replied.

"That's because they're extinct!" Lucas explained. "Daaaamn… do I look hot or what?"

Gold whimpered. "Who will be the two that survive, again?"

"Well," Red pondered, "I think it'll be me and you. I mean, look at the pic."

May frowned. "I sure hope this is false. I better not be dead soon."

Everyone started laughing awkwardly. "Okay," said Red, "let's just mourn or something."

As soon as everyone left, Platinum stayed behind, focusing on the book. It seemed to call her - as if she was supposed to be the heroine. But that wouldn't be possible. Pyrite and Rouge, Gold and Red? It's obvious they were the heroes… right?

Perhaps.

**A/N: Goody goody gumdrops. I got my butt to write a longer chapter!**


	5. Red and Gold's Fight

**4**

Many days later, the trainers stared at the decorated coffin that showed Wally's body. He was dressed in fine clothes, not even a worn off flesh was shown. He looked like himself, but dead, and peaceful. One could almost say he was sleeping. That wasn't true, however. His aura was gone. That meant he was, indeed, dead. May blew her nose, eyes red and puffy.

"H-He looks so peaceful," Dawn said after a long silence. She was wearing a long, black dress. She, like the others, looked as if they were mourning all night long. Her cheeks were streaked with tears.

Red turned away, his hat downwards to hide his eyes. He fought the urge to scream in such a longing pain from regret and guilt.

"G-Goodbye… Wally," May sniffled, moving his cold, lifeless hands and put a red rose on them. She then moved them back, looking like he was holding the rose when he died. Brendan rubbed his eyes, though he wasn't crying. The only boy that was crying was only Gold, but that was sniffling, not exactly crying.

Platinum touched the light green, emerald coffin. It was decorated with small pictures of his Pokemon. Such delicate work was made in it, with light pieces of glass touched on the corners. But what should have been a cold, dark, miserable day, it was sunny. The world should of stopped in sadness. The melancholy from everyone was felt throughout the world.

Brendan covered his face when the coffin was buried. Norman patted May's shoulder, but she shrugged it off, weeping.

"Oh, oh! Wally, why?" she begged. "Please, do not leave this world! Come back!"

"There's no coming back," Brendan whispered, placing scarlet pimpernel (light blue in color) flowers on the grave.

"What happened to Wally's Pokemon?" asked Norman, standing beside Pearl.

"Died," Pearl responded. "Don't know how, but we're going to visit them next. They're at the top of Mount Pyre, where the fog never rolls and their sprits can play forever more. At least, that's what the Channelers said."

"Mount Pyre has Channelers?" Blue replied.

"Yeah… they're just not as easy to spot than in Kanto," Red whispered.

Slowly, as the day went by in silence, everyone left. Except Red. He sat by the grave almost all night, eyes shallow and dark.

Gold walked over to the grave, holding flowers. "Red, you didn't come to the funeral for his Pokemon. Why don't you come with me so you can pay your respects?"

Red grunted, crawling away from Gold and hid his head behind his legs. Gold sighed silently.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Why don't you tell me?"

"I feel like crap," Red replied hoarsely. This made Gold wince - it wasn't like Red to use such language.

"First it was Leaf, now one of my friends. Why don't you take away everyone dear to me?"

Gold sat by Red, plucking out pieces of grass in awkwardness. "Red, please, let's go. You'll destroy yourself just by punishing your own body."

"But it was MY fault!" Red yelled, making Gold flinch. "I never stopped him from leaving! I was too busy being all emo to myself!"

"Because of Leaf?" Gold yelled louder, to an almost scream. "She is gone, Red! Dead! Stop it!"

Red stood up, breathing heavily in fury. "We were close! She was my life! We depended on each other to live!"

"If you depended on her to live, then how is that you're alive?!"

Red picked up a rock and hurled it to Gold, shouting in frustration. "YOU'VE NEVER HAD SOMEONE LIKE HER! YOU CAN NEVER REPLACE HER!"

"THEN WHY ARE WE FRIENDS?! HUH? RED! OPEN YOUR EYES!"

Red screamed, punching a nearby tree until his knuckles were bleeding. "I LOVED HER! SHE WAS MY SISTER! SHE WAS FAMILY! LEAF WAS ALL I HAD! WE WERE THE ONLY FRIENDS WE ALL HAD!"

"… Only friends?" Gold whispered, eyes turning moist. "Then what am I to you?" He turned and ran.

"W-Wait! Gold! I-I didn't mean it!" Red stretched out his arms, eyes wide open in shock. He leaned over to Wally's grave and pounded it. "Now see what you've done for dying, Leaf and Wally? You've done nothing but bring me pain." He curled up into as much of a ball as humanly possible, and fell to sleep, crying softly and silently.

-

Gold backed up against the end of the ally, his eyes open in fear. The figure closed her palms, opened its mouth, and began to expand its body. Gold felt as if the life was draining from his body.

"T-Typhlosion… help…" he muttered, trying not to fall on the ground. His Pokemon popped out, growling and spitting at the figure. It stopped its sucking and faced the Pokemon, getting ready to charge. Typhlosion spat a huge Flamethrower, making it lumber away, whispering in a soft voice. Gold could of sworn he saw long, lengthy hair fly behind it. He rubbed his eyes, then collapsed on the ground.

His Pokemon picked him up, and crawled away.


End file.
